Hickey's Creek is a meandering tributary of the Caloosahatchee River, and forms the centerpiece of Lee County's largest regional park, east of Fort Myers. Hickey's Creek was established in 1994 as a gopher tortoise mitigation preserve through the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Mitigation Park Program.

Jerry CutlipLee County Parks and Recreation

Oaks, palms and ferns line the banks of the narrow creek, named for Dennis Hickey, an Irish immigrant who homesteaded the area in the 1800s and made a living from cattle ranching and timbering. From 1932 - 1943, commercial logging interests established a sawmill camp and logging railroad on the property. Other past uses of the property include citrus production and cattle grazing. Today, the remains of the elevated railroad bed transect a mile of the area and form a portion of the Palmetto Pines Trail, one of three scenic hiking routes that wind through 1,117 acres of pine flatwoods, marshes, cypress swamps and oak-palm hammocks. Hickey's Creek is a shady oasis for paddlers and a picturesque spot for fishing and picnicking. Its dark waters are home to otters, alligators, largemouth bass and the occasional manatee. The gopher tortoise shares its upland habitats with Florida scrub-jays and Eastern indigo snakes.

FWC Facts:The northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) is the official state bird of Florida.